These Homemade Sugar Cookies are easy and delicious. This recipe comes together quickly. Once the dough has chilled, simply roll-out and use cookie cutters to stamp out your cookies! Bake and decorate with frosting and sprinkles.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

December has been one busy month!

The month was filled with work, school, class parties, Christmas shopping, snow days and another tree falling on our house. Yes… another. This would be the second tree that fell onto the roof of our home in the past 5 years. You’d think with this kind of luck we would hit the lottery! Yeah… no…. not so much. Luckily the only trees left to fall are the ones in the woods behind our home. Phew. I can’t say I’m not sad to see the month AND the tree go!

So I apologize for only 5 posts this month but I have a lot still yet to post but I’m saving those for next year. I plan to enjoy the remaining days of 2010 with baking, drinking and being merry! With that said, raise your hand if you make sugar cookies for Christmas? Raise your hand if you get 4-5 batches out of your sugar cookies? I have to admit I’m the one who refrigerates the scraps of dough a second time… rolls them out, to make more cookies.

Maybe that’s what most people do. Maybe I’m not the only weirdo?!

And I do love my sugar cookies!

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

I also love my cookie cutters!

One thing is for sure… sugar cookies aren’t just for Christmas. With the right cookie cutters you can make them for any special occasion. It just so happens to be Christmas time and me and my girls are spending the day making and decorating sugar cookies! It is a tradition that we always look forward to doing!

So if a simple cookie recipe is what you’re looking for then this is it! Learn how to make the most perfect sugar cookies… whether it’s Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Valentine’s Day or because it’s Monday, this recipe is sure to make a lot of yummy sugar cookies.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

To Make These Homemade Sugar Cookies You Will Need:

  • butter (softened)
  • granulated sugar
  • pure vanilla extract
  • unbleached all-purpose flour
  • kosher salt
  • larg egg

It isn’t a ton of ingredients which is why I like this recipe. Simple.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Throw 1-1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) of butter in the bowl of you mixer.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Measure out 3/4 cup sugar and add that in too. Turn the mixer on medium for about three minutes. 5-6 minutes if you’re using a hand mixer.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Meanwhile measure out 2-1/2 cups flour and add it into a medium sized bowl.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Next add 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt to the flour.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Whisk gently until combined.

How cute is Malloree here?

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

When the butter and sugar mixture is light and fluffy, stop the mixer.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Next, add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

And then add in the 1 egg along with the vanilla.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Mix until just combined.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Then add a little bit of the flour mixture at a time while the mixer is on low. Add more after thoroughly mixed in.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Next, scrape the sides down in between.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Then stop when the dough is crumbly and forms a ball in your mixer.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Next, separate in to two halves.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Then form in to disks and wrap with plastic wrap.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Next, let it chill in the fridge for an hour before you start to roll it out. I would preheat your oven 10 minutes before rolling out your dough. You don’t want to wait around for your oven to preheat.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Then sprinkle some flour on a large work surface.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Next, unwrap your chilled dough and plop it onto the floured surface.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Then, roll out the dough. I don’t measure my dough thickness. Do you?? In my guesstimation, it looks like a quarter of an inch.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

I let my girls punch out the shapes, which is really hard for me since I’m a Virgo and like to do it all myself. I struggled but survived.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Not only in this photo did I realize my youngest still has small cute chubby hands… but that she’s also giving CPR to the cookie cutter!

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

But when I saw this photo of my oldest, I paused. Not only was she wearing her Great Gramma Jean’s ring, but it was also the first time I noticed that her hands look exactly like mine.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

Next lay them onto your lined baking sheet.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

And then bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes!

Watch them carefully as the thinner ones will brown sooner.

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

We will frost and decorate these with sprinkles and colored sugar.

And leave a few out for Santa!

I will sneak a couple to sit in bed while watching food network and leave a few crumbs for my husband to roll over on!

Enjoy! And if you give this Homemade Sugar Cookies recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

Homemade Sugar Cookies l SimplyScratch.com

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Yield: 24 servings

Homemade Sugar Cookies

These Homemade Sugar Cookies are easy and delicious. This recipe comes together quickly. Once the dough has chilled, simply roll-out and use cookie cutters to stamp out your cookies! Bake and decorate with frosting and sprinkles.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions 

  • Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric stand mixer at medium until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer or 6 minutes with a handheld.
  • Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl measure and add the flour and salt, set aside.
  • To the sugar and butter mixture, beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
  • Form dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
  • Place oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350° about ten minutes prior to rolling out the dough.
  • Roll out 1 disk of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into an 8 1/2-inch round (1/4 inch thick ish) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, rewrap in plastic and chill until firm.) Cut out as many cookies as possible from dough with cookie cutters and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging cookies about 1 inch apart.
  • Repeat with remaining dough if desired.
  • Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, 8 to 10 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Chill the cookies that are waiting to be baked!

Notes

MAKE AHEAD: Dough can be chilled up to 3 days. Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 126kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 77mg, Potassium: 19mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 189IU, Calcium: 5mg, Iron: 1mg